Gaudreau has goal, assist in Flames win against Rangers

CALGARY -- Johnny Gaudreau had a goal and an assist to help the Calgary Flames to a 4-3 win against the New York Rangers at Scotiabank Saddledome on Thursday.

Sean Monahan and Mikael Backlund scored for the Flames (21-17-5), who had been 0-4-1 in their past five home games. Cam Talbot made 24 saves.
"We were treating this like a must-win," Monahan said. "You come in, we lost our last five here on home ice. We wanted to get going. Talbot] in net, he's done great work for us. We stepped up and did a good job tonight."
***[WATCH: [All Rangers vs. Flames highlights]*
Kaapo Kakko had a goal and an assist, and Adam Fox had three assists for the Rangers (19-17-4), who are 3-3-0 in their past six games. Henrik Lundqvist made 25 saves.
"We've shown that we can do it when we play smart," Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad said. "You're not always going to have your day. It's not going to be your best night but we've got to find a way … not play safe but play smart and work yourself into the game. It's not going to be handed to you. That's just something we have to think of and be more aware of and have that mindset going into games."
Monahan scored the game-winner when he completed a three-way passing play with Gaudreau and Noah Hanifin to give Calgary a 4-3 lead at 8:22 of the second period.

"After we scored that one, I thought we started to play a lot better," Monahan said. "We locked it down and limited their chances and stayed in front of them. A lot of guys stepped up and [Talbot] kept us in there too with some big saves. We've got to learn how to win and we've got to learn how to win the right away, and I think tonight was a start."
Gaudreau slid a backhand between Lundqvist's legs on a breakaway to put Calgary up 1-0 at 4:15 of the first period, and Backlund made it 2-0 with a breakaway deke at 7:16 with the Flames shorthanded 5-on-3.
"[The goals] gave us a lot of energy," Backlund said. "The last two home games it's been some tough starts. Penalty kill wasn't the best the last two home games. To get that early from Johnny and then to score a shorty was obviously good for the group. They still came back and tied it, but it was good we got the third one."
Jacob Trouba scored on the power play on the same 5-on-3 to cut the lead to 2-1 at 7:42, and Filip Chytil, still with the man advantage, scored on Kakko's rebound 25 seconds later to tie it 2-2.

"It shouldn't happen," Zibanejad said. "It's simple. It's unacceptable. It just can't happen in a situation like that. Another start where they get the lead early. We can't get it back. It's fortunate for us that the other power-play unit got us back, but we've just got to be better."
Derek Ryan put Calgary up 3-2 at 13:18 with a turnaround shot that deflected off Rangers defenseman Brady Skjei before Kakko tied it 3-3 at 5:46 of the second on a wrist shot from the point. It was Kakko's first goal in 20 games.

They said it

"Give the guys credit, it could have been pretty deflating after going up 2-0 then giving them both right back, but our guys battled hard, we believed in this room and we knew that we had to end this homestand on a bit of a high note before we head out on the road." -- Flames goalie Cam Talbot
"We're giving up too many goals. You can't score five goals every game, expect to win like that. Start or not, I thought we battled. I thought our power play was good. We've just got to be more conscious in our own zone, off the rush. All those things. You limit a team's opportunities and Grade A chances. We've got to be better. We gave up another four tonight. We gave up seven [Tuesday] night. We're just giving up too many goals. Can't let that happen." -- Rangers defenseman Marc Staal

Need to know

Monahan has four points (three goals, one assist) in a four-game point streak. ... Fox, originally selected by the Flames in the third round (No. 66) of the 2016 NHL Draft, has five assists in the past two games. … Trouba's goal was his 200th NHL point. … Hanifin had his 100th NHL assist. … Rangers forward Chris Kreider played his 500th NHL game. … Forward Michael Frolik was traded from the Flames to the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday for a fourth-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft that originally belonged to the San Jose Sharks.

What's next

Rangers:At the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, SN360, SN1, CITY, MSG, NHL.TV)
Flames: At the Minnesota Wild on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; SN, FS-N, FS-WI, NHL.TV)